Journal of Biometrics & Biostatistics

Geospatial Associations Between Tobacco Retail Outlets and Current Use of Cigarettes and e-Cigarettes among Youths in Texas

Abstract

Adriana Pérez, Lung-Chang Chien, Melissa B Harrell, Keryn E Pasch, Udoka C Obinwa and Cheryl L Perry

Introduction: To identify the geospatial association between the presence of retail tobacco outlets (RTO) around school's neighborhoods, and current use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes among adolescents in four counties in Texas.
Methods: Students in grades 6, 8 and 10th were surveyed in their schools in 2014-2015. The schools’ addresses was geocoded to determine the presence of at least one RTO within half a mile of the school. Two outcomes were considered: past 30-day use of (a) cigarettes and (b) e-cigarettes. Bayesian structured additive regression models and Kriging methods were used to estimate the geospatial associations between the presence of RTO and use in three counties: Dallas/Tarrant, Harris, and Travis.
Results: We observed a geospatial association between the presence of RTO around the schools and current use of cigarettes in the eastern area of Dallas County and in the southeastern area of Harris County. Also, a geospatial association between the presence of RTO around the schools and current use of e-cigarettes was observed in the entire Tarrant County and in the northeastern area of Harris County.
Conclusions: There were geospatial associations between the presence of RTO around some schools and cigarette/e-cigarette use among students, but this association was not consistent across all the counties. More research is needed to determine why some areas are at higher risk for this association.